57 Ways to Say “I Love You” to YourSELF
Happy Valentines Day!
Valentine’s Day is the day of LOVE… a time to show LOVE to yourSELF, your main squeeze, your kids, your friends… it is just a FEEL-GOOD day all around.
EXCEPT… you might not be feeling like you are ‘equipped’ to love. You may feel distracted, exhausted, emotionallydrained, or just lost. If you are struggling with an eating disorder right now then it is VERY likely that you have TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ‘how” to love yourself, and we all know the ‘old but true’ saying that “If you can’t love yourself fully, strongly & unconditionally… then you cannot love anyone ELSE that way either”.
Because I remember being in that SAME PLACE emotionally (actually I HATED Valentine’s Day because it just reminded me of everything that I WANTED and DID NOT HAVE… like an honest & loving relationship, a feeling of joy about who I was, or a feeling of self-confidence in expressing my feelings of love toward others)… I wanted to give you some ideas about how to start the journey BACK to loving yourself.
You might be thinking “Why would I focus on such a selfish thing on Valentines Day? Loving mySELF? Only a jerk would be so self centred… well I assure you that once you LOVE yourSELF… you will not be able to STOP YOURSELF from telling everyone around you all the amazing and wonderful ways that they make you smile, laugh, joyful, and yes… feel LOVE for them.
Loving yourSELF can actually be the GREATEST GIFT you can give to the important people in your life.
When you put yourself down, or resist seeing the amazing things about yourSELF… then you actually send a message to those around you that it is NOT OK to love yourself. But if you LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE… then you unconsciously attract and encourage every person in your life to do the same!
Loving yourSELF can be:
- taking some quiet time to do something for yourself that you’ve been putting off
- learning a new skill or celebrating a talent you have
- speaking loving words and having loving thoughts about who you are and what you do
- making choices that give you mental, emotional, physical and spiritual balance and peace
- and many many more!
You will see how contagious ‘self-love’ really is… because when we are not pre-occupied with hating ourselves, and having mental conversations with ourselves about ‘how much we suck’…. then we are OPEN to be present with others, to appreciate them, to express our feelings for them… and OUR LUV CUP OVERFLOWS INTO THEIRS… so we become a ‘love-giver’ instead of a love-stealer.
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If you want to be known as a light in the world, who makes others around you feel appreciated, encouraged and special… then FIRST you have to… LOVE YOU.
So let’s get that mission started right now :)
Luv,
.
P. S. Make sure that you SHARE what YOU DID today to LOVE yourSELF by leaving a comment below the article Heinz 57 – A random list of 57 Ways to Say “I love you” to yourSELF. Remember when we share with others how we LOVE ourSELVES… we send them subliminal messages that give them permission to do the same! If your self-love activity is not listed here in this article then share it with us in the comments!
P. P. S. Welcome new readers! I am so glad that you are joining our Eating Disorder FREEDOM Movement… I can’t wait to get to know you so make sure you start to participate on my blog by leaving comments so that we can get you where you want to be: FREE.
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Thank you so much Shan, will definately be trying some of these things. I’m going to make my own self-love list in my notebook to refer to when needed :)
That is a great idea Alyssa! After you make your own list… you can continue to add to it whenever a new idea hits you. That way when you are feeling your luv cup is “Empty” you can head to your list instead of heading to disordered eating behaviours. I would love for you to share some of your “self-luv items” in your journal with me! Shan ox
I just started my list yesterday and I used alot of your activities on my list. I’m definately planning to keep adding as I think of more. Yesterday I made myself an iTunes playlist of all my favorite uplifting songs and I worked at decluttering my bedroom closet and a few other areas around the house… and at the end I took a box of some of the items I’d been hanging onto in my closet for far too long and donated it to a local thrift shop. It felt great to get all that out of the way.
some of what is on my list so far: paint my nails, try a new hairstyle off an online tutorial, learn a new yoga pose or something from another type of exercise, give some undivided attention to my pet, learn a new craft/diy project and create something for my home or for someone I love, look up a new smoothie/juice recipe and walk to the store for the ingredients (the idea is to relax and be mindful on my walk there, instead of rushing to the store, rushing to find what I need and being tempted to buy a binge food… and then rushing home)
I will be adding to my list, and keeping my book in a handy spot in my house to refer to when needed :)
WOW Alyssa! Amazing job! I LOVE the self-love ideas you came up with… they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! AND I AM SO PROUD OF YOU for creating this journal and committing to adding to it, and taking things from it when you need an emotional refill. GREAT job hun. Shan ox
P.S. I just HAD to turn this post into a video… I changed a few things on the list so let me know what you think after you watch it! :)
thank you so much for your encouraging words :) love the video!
Thanks Alyssa! I had to change our favourite song because I don’t want the mean YouTube corporate people to close my account (had a nightmare that they DID because of that video… I have learned to listen to those messages now :) So had to purchase some royalty free music instead! Still pretty good though :) Shan
Loving myself by letting myself go to bed early. Well slept = better equipped for life’s many challenges. Looking forward to other responses!
Yes… isn’t life SO much MORE FUN when you have the energy to enjoy it! Great job at sharing how you are loving yourself today… thanks for starting the comment luv!!